Estimated learn time: 10 minutes, 29 seconds
All year long, gross sales and subscription administration groups juggle a whole bunch or hundreds of subscription upgrades, add-ons, and renewals throughout buyer accounts. Nevertheless, present options for producing pricing estimates for subscription adjustments, securing inside approvals, and offering clients with formal documentation are overwhelmingly guide, cumbersome, and error-prone.
And with companies tightening their belts, one misunderstanding or misstep throughout the improve or renewal course of can imply the distinction between a multiple-year contract and surprising buyer churn.
What if each buyer renewal—from estimate to bill—was predictable and seamless for everybody concerned?
That’s the imaginative and prescient behind FastSpring’s Proforma Bill API. Our proforma bill answer fosters subscription administration effectivity and transparency by automating the creation {of professional}, approval-ready invoices primarily based on present estimates from the FastSpring platform. Your clients will respect the clear pricing breakdowns, and your go-to-market group will love the flexibleness to accommodate various subscription fashions—eradicating the necessity for guide calculations.
The outcome? Streamlined approval processes. Stronger buyer relationships. Predictable forecasting. And elevated income.
Resolution Overview
Whether or not it’s an easy renewal, advanced improve state of affairs, or mid-term adjustment, the Proforma Bill API delivers a elegant pre-invoice important for clean decision-making and execution.
Through the use of FastSprings Proforma Bill API, builders and technical gross sales leaders can keep away from:
- Handbook calculations and errors
- Confusion and buyer frustration
- Tedious workflows and misplaced productiveness
- Missed renewal alternatives and misplaced income
- Challenges with funds planning
- Rigid subscription administration
As an alternative, FastSpring’s new Proforma Bill API empowers income groups to:
Forecast Precisely. Create correct proforma invoices for subscription renewals, upgrades, downgrades, and add-ons to streamline budgeting and pre-approve prices.
Improve Renewal Charges. Present clear value breakdowns to scale back buyer confusion, friction, and potential delays and disputes.
Enhance Effectivity. Automate proforma bill technology, remove guide calculation errors, and release employees for higher-value duties.
Streamline Approvals. Facilitate clear approval workflows for discounted pricing or customized phrases, accelerating the subscription administration course of.
Simplify Complicated Situations. Assist adaptable processes and API-driven integration for various subscription fashions and billing programs.
With readability and effectivity at its core, the Proforma Bill API offers builders the straightforward instruments to successfully companion with go-to-market groups and subscription managers to mission prices, safe inside approvals, and talk billing particulars to present clients.
Now, let’s see our answer in motion.
Resolution in Motion
FastSpring constructed its Proforma Bill API for builders, however the advantages are for everybody. When builders deploy the straightforward code, correct forecasting and expedited renewals get exponentially simpler.
When corporations expertise fast development, managing versatile subscription phrases, together with length and reductions, could be difficult. And not using a correct system in place, this flexibility sometimes means guide processes and, in flip, errors from guide knowledge entry. Additional, when corporations don’t have a method to sync subscriptions and add-ons into their calculations, income monitoring can develop into a nightmare—and renewals typically fall via the cracks.
Let’s look at how a gross sales group would possibly use the Proforma Bill API to make sure buyer flexibility and most income for the enterprise.
Gross sales Consultant
Meet Steph. Steph is a top-performing gross sales consultant for Wizzle, a fictional firm that has skilled fast subscription development over the previous few years. The gross sales group hooked potential clients within the early days by providing versatile subscription phrases, together with guide renewals, deep reductions, and various time period lengths. Whereas this helped Wizzle develop its buyer base rapidly, it’s made renewals practically unimaginable for Steph to maintain up with.
Steph needs her clients to have versatile choices, so she wants an answer to generate proforma renewal invoices with totally different time period lengths and pricing constructions, distinctive buyer reductions or negotiated charges, and supply promotions or prorated calculations.
To start out, Steph wants flexibility in renewal necessities. Prospects wish to know if adjustments will happen instantly or throughout the subsequent billing cycle. Proforma Bill API permits both.
Right here, you’ll see the code for a subscription change that goes into impact throughout the subsequent billing cycle. Word the simplicity in figuring out the requested variety of items, the worth, the requested items for the add-on (and related value), and whether or not or not the brand new pricing is prorated for this billing cycle.
Subsequent Billing Cycle – Request
{
"subscription": "7oSTq-tZS9S0LoOpiPQL5w",
"product":"Normal"
"amount": 5,
"pricing": {
"worth": {
"USD": 10
}
},
"addons": [
{
"product": "Support Module",
"quantity": 5,
"pricing": {
"price": {
"USD": 7
}
}
}
],,
"prorate": false
}The code snippet is almost an identical if the brand new pricing is prorated. Discover that “Prorate” is false within the first snippet and true within the following code snippet.
Fast Software – Request
{
"subscription": "7oSTq-tZS9S0LoOpiPQL5w",
"product":"Normal"
"amount": 5,
"pricing": {
"worth": {
"USD": 10
}
},
"addons": [
{
"product": "Support Module",
"quantity": 5,
"pricing": {
"price": {
"USD": 7
}
}
}
],
"prorate": true
}If you embed this code into your present programs, your gross sales group has a clear and easy expertise on the entrance finish. The gross sales consultant merely places the title of the subscription into FastSpring, the requested amount, any add-ons, and whether or not or not the adjustments are prorated—and the API will robotically generate an bill with correct calculations.
Subsequent Billing Cycle – Output
{
"proFormaInvoiceHeader": {
"proFormaInvoiceCreationDate": "2024-03-16",
"forex": "USD",
"timezone": "UTC",
"message": "This bill and the renewal quantity on the following cost date are legitimate so long as there aren't any further adjustments to the subscription plan from right this moment's date till the following cost date."
},
"contact": [
{
"type": "BILL-TO",
"email": "john.doe@cloudtech.com",
"firstname": "John",
"lastname": "Doe",
"phone": "555-987-6543",
"organization": {
"companyId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440002",
"companyName": "CloudTech Solutions",
"department": {
"departmentId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440003",
"departmentName": "Finance",
"departmentDescription": "Handles billing, invoicing, and payment processing."
}
},
"address": {
"id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440006",
"addressLine1": "456 Shipping Lane",
"city": "Miami",
"region": "FL",
"postalCode": "33101",
"country": "USA"
}
},
{
"type": "SHIP-TO",
"email": "jane.smith@datametrics.com",
"firstname": "Jane",
"lastname": "Smith",
"phone": "555-123-4567",
"organization": {
"companyId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440004",
"companyName": "DataMetrics Analytics",
"department": {
"departmentId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440005",
"departmentName": "Operations",
"departmentDescription": "Manages the delivery and deployment of software services to customers."
}
},
"address": {
"id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440007",
"addressLine1": "456 Shipping Lane",
"city": "Miami",
"region": "FL",
"postalCode": "33101",
"country": "USA"
},
"taxId": "123-tax-id"
}
],
"currentPlanSummary": {
"product": "Primary",
"billingFrequency": "1 month",
"worth": 8.50,
"amount": 1,
"nextChargeDate": "4/6/24",
"nextChargeAmount": 7.65
},
"proposedPlanSummary": {
"product": "Normal",
"billingFrequency": "1 month",
"worth": 50.00, // $10.00 per 30 days for five portions.
"amount": 5,
"nextChargeDate": "4/6/24",
"nextChargeAmount": 85.00 // $50 for Normal + $35 for Assist Module.
},
"gadgets": [
{
"product": "Standard Subscription",
"quantity": 5,
"price": 10.00,
"discount": 0.00,
"total": 50.00,
"proratedItemAmounts": null
},
{
"product": "Support Module",
"quantity": 5,
"price": 7.00,
"discount": 0.00,
"total": 35.00,
"proratedItemAmounts": null
}
],
"invoiceAmounts": {
"subtotal": 85.00,
"low cost": 0.00,
"tax": 0.00,
"complete": 85.00
}
}On this state of affairs, the gross sales consultant needs to create an bill exhibiting an altered subscription amount on the subsequent billing cycle. Primarily based on the gross sales rep’s enter, the system robotically and immediately creates a proforma bill exhibiting the brand new fees.
Fast Software – Output
{
"proFormaInvoiceHeader": {
"proFormaInvoiceCreationDate": "2024-03-17",
"forex": "USD",
"timezone": "America/New_York",
"message": "This bill displays rapid adjustments to the subscription plan, with prorated fees relevant from the change date to the following billing cycle."
},
"contact": [
{
"type": "BILL-TO",
"email": "john.doe@cloudtech.com",
"firstname": "John",
"lastname": "Doe",
"phone": "555-987-6543",
"organization": {
"companyId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440002",
"companyName": "CloudTech Solutions",
"department": {
"departmentId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440003",
"departmentName": "Finance",
"departmentDescription": "Handles billing, invoicing, and payment processing."
}
},
"address": {
"id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440006",
"addressLine1": "456 Shipping Lane",
"city": "Miami",
"region": "FL",
"postalCode": "33101",
"country": "USA"
}
},
{
"type": "SHIP-TO",
"email": "jane.smith@datametrics.com",
"firstname": "Jane",
"lastname": "Smith",
"phone": "555-123-4567",
"organization": {
"companyId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440004",
"companyName": "DataMetrics Analytics",
"department": {
"departmentId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440005",
"departmentName": "Operations",
"departmentDescription": "Manages the delivery and deployment of software services to customers."
}
},
"address": {
"id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440007",
"addressLine1": "456 Shipping Lane",
"city": "Miami",
"region": "FL",
"postalCode": "33101",
"country": "USA"
},
"taxId": "123-tax-id"
}
],
"currentPlanSummary": {
"product": "Primary",
"billingFrequency": "1 month",
"worth": 8.50,
"amount": 1,
"nextChargeDate": "4/6/24",
"nextChargeAmount": 7.65
},
"proposedPlanSummary": {
"product": "Normal",
"billingFrequency": "1 month",
"worth": 50.00,
"amount": 5,
"nextChargeDate": "4/6/24",
"nextChargeAmount": 85.00
},
"gadgets": [
{
"product": "Standard Subscription",
"quantity": 5,
"price": 10.00,
"total": 50.00,
"proratedItemAmounts": {
"proratedCharge": "35.00",
"proratedCredit": "0.00",
"proratedTax": "0.00",
"proratedAmount": 35.00
}
},
{
"product": "Support Module",
"quantity": 5,
"price": 7.00,
"total": 35.00,
"proratedItemAmounts": {
"proratedCharge": "24.50",
"proratedCredit": "0.00",
"proratedTax": "0.00",
"proratedAmount": 24.50
}
}
],
"invoiceAmounts": {
"subtotal": 85.00,
"low cost": 0.00,
"tax": 0.00,
"complete": 59.50
}
}On this state of affairs, the gross sales rep needs to point out the shopper the identical subscription change however with a prorated worth for August. In each situations, you may see how easy will probably be for the gross sales rep to rapidly present the shopper a number of choices, making certain flexibility and a clean path to development and renewal.
Conclusion
When companies scrutinize each charge and subscription, a clean and speedy renewal course of could be all it takes to retain extra clients. Nevertheless, that course of requires automation, accuracy, and transparency in all buyer communications—particularly concerning pricing for add-ons and renewals.
FastSpring’s Proforma Bill API removes the inner hassles, potential errors, and buyer frustrations inherent within the outdated approach of managing invoices. By deploying easy strains of code in your present backend system, you may immediately empower groups to create correct proforma invoices for his or her clients. Renewals that used to take weeks or months of negotiations can now take a number of days—and even a few hours.
There will probably be no extra back-and-forth, miscommunications, or frustrations. With FastSpring’s Proforma Bill API, clients are blissful, and finance groups can precisely forecast and hit their numbers extra persistently. What extra might you ask for?
Braden Metal
Braden is the Senior Product Advertising Supervisor for FastSpring. When he isn’t bringing new merchandise to market, he spends his time writing fantasy novels.
